A suburban Detroit hospital has turned around its sagging skilled nursing numbers with a new approach to the once-struggling unit.
Just two years ago, the Oakland Nursing Center, on the third floor of Surgeon’s Choice Medical Center, was mired in the red. But with a new CEO and strategy, the Southfield, MI, provider has placed a greater emphasis on building patient volume at its 26-bed SNF and 15-bed rehab units.
Surgeon’s has now doubled the average daily census of its unit, and is bringing in $75,000 in revenue each month from the offering, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.
New leader Steven Craig said the hospital recently contracted with an outside vendor to help manage the unit. Together, they’ve focused on ensuring that the experience for patients remains “small and intimate, not large and bureaucratic.”
“The nursing unit used to lose money,” Craig told the magazine. “The focus now is on excellent patient care and customer service. Many of our nursing home patients are elderly and ill. We want to make sure their stay — and their families’ experience — is unique, caring, and unlike any other nursing facility.”
The SNF success story is part of a larger turnaround of the now physician-owned, boutique hospital, which was formerly called Oakland Regional Hospital. Its new leader said the overall turnaround has been made possible by focusing on “quality as opposed to quantity” and getting their financial house in order. “In today’s rapidly changing healthcare environment, fiscal responsibility is critical,” he said
